Microbrewed Adventures - Charles Papazian [54]
The anomalies of Brakspear’s will never be studied in today’s brewing research laboratories, simply because their methods do not agree with modern brewing and fermentation theories and philosophies. That’s too bad. There is much that could have been learned from breweries like the historical Brakspear’s Henley-on-Thames brewery and their superb world-class beers. The beer speaks for itself, though the techniques are contentious to many of the learned and the scholarly trained.
I’VE BEGUN my world beer adventures with recollections of England. These beers and brewers were the beginnings of my own homebrew journey. But I have discovered since, as you will too, that the world is full of great beer endeavors, and one country’s border is yet another’s frontier. I continue striding out of bounds and normality, into the intimate realm of personal experiences. Each journey provides the foundation of all great beer, great brewers and microbrewed adventures.
CHAPTER 6
Unraveling the Mysteries of Mead
MEAD IS THE HOLY GRAIL of brewing. It has a storied history dating back thousands of years. The earliest written records of mead—the Sanskrit Rig-veda—date back to 3000 B.C. There is no doubt in my mind that the unwritten history reaches back even farther, 10,000 years or more. The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf from 700 A.D. describes mead halls and mead benches. The Welsh king Howl the Great introduced royal legislation on making meads in 950 A.D. In the 14th century, mead reached its greatest popularity in England and was prominently featured in Chaucer’s seminal work, The Canterbury Tales. In the 1400s, large-scale importation of cheap foreign wines into England brought a rapid decline in mead production, but it continued to be made commercially for another 300 years. The last written reference to the public sale of meads in England is seen in 1712, in Addison’s “Coverly Papers.”1 So what has happened to mead, the original ale, nectar of the gods, an elixir derived from the fermentation of honey, water and yeast? How has it managed to survive the past 300 years? Well, a few great mead makers, microbrewers in their own right, have kept the tradition alive, and I have been lucky enough to meet and linger in the wisdom and company of two of them….
The Secrets of Buckfast Abbey
Brother Adam
I ENJOY tasting all of life’s small and big flavors. Some beckon, some flirt, while others attempt to escape. Not all reveal themselves completely, but the ones that do are epic.
In the summer of 1993 I found myself sharing dinner with 40 Benedictine monks in the Devonshire countryside of England. The ceilings arched above while the evening light filtered through the narrow windows to the west, creating a mood of reverence and awe. Prayers had been read, and only the busy clatter of knives and forks broke the silence in this centuries-old dining hall furnished with simple wooden tables and chairs. I tasted, savored and dwelled on the moments. They were everywhere. A background smell of furniture polish and the mustiness of old stones crept into my being. The experience of dining with monks swept my imagination back in time within the walls of this old monastery.
The meal was accompanied by a stoneware jug of amber liquid. I poured myself a glass. It was ale, English ale. Almost flat, served at room temperature, it was a bit ciderlike. Had it been homebrewed at the abbey? Knowing its origins seemed irrelevant. The recipe was nothing I’d ever pursue. Still, its mere presence enhanced its quality. I continued to taste and savor the moments. They were everywhere.
I spent that night in the monastery. Robed, hooded and slippered monks quietly walked the dark halls of the cloister. At the 9:15 curfew, the doors would be bolted shut from the inside. The lure of local ale collided